Tuesday 11 September 2012 10.24 EDT
First published on Tuesday 11 September 2012 10.24 EDT

The Olympics are over and the cry of "Faster, Higher, Stronger" is rugby union's breathless catchphrase now. It is entirely natural for people to hunt new world-beaters in the early weeks of a Lions season but the chase has started ridiculously early. Just two games into the Aviva Premiership campaign we hear from Leicester that Manu Tuilagi will be the world's best No13 inside 12 months. Northampton are hailing Dylan Hartley as "world-class" in everything he does. Kyle Eastmond is the new Jason Robinson. And so on.

Goodness knows, the England head coach Stuart Lancaster would love all this to be true. Tuilagi smashing all-comers, Hartley skittling the world's best tight forwards, Eastmond quick-stepping his way into the national team from a virtual standing start. Within rugby's more publicity-hungry parishes, understandably, there is a desire to whip up interest now the Olympic juggernaut has rumbled away. Lancaster, though, should be wary of the gushing hype. In South Africa, for a start, they must be wondering if the Tuilagi they saw in June is the same bloke being laden with garlands by his club coaches following a decent home game against the might of Worcester Warriors.

Richard Cockerill, Leicester's director of rugby, is absolutely right to point out Tuilagi is young – still only 21 – and should improve with experience. He and the Tigers' coaches are hugging themselves – "Myself, Matt O'Connor and everyone here thinks he is going to be around the best No13 in world rugby within the next 12 months or so" – at that exciting prospect. They are fully entitled to their opinion but, as things stand, it is a judgement call which will raise eyebrows sky-high in Wellington, Dublin and Cardiff.

As anyone who witnessed Conrad Smith and Sonny Bill Williams in harness earlier this year will know, classy centre play is not always – in fact, rarely – about the bludgeon. For connoisseurs of such things, the departure of the gifted Williams from the Test arena is a grim loss lightened only by the fact Smith is still available. Despite not having played any rugby for two months following retina surgery, he was his normal smooth, unselfish self in helping Ma'a Nonu to set up Julian Savea's try against Argentina at the weekend.

At 30 it is reasonable to suggest Smith will continue to operate at the highest level for at least another couple of years. Brian O'Driscoll's body may not hold together that long but are we really crediting Tuilagi with the remarkable competitive drive, the shrewdness and the galvanising effect upon others that Ireland's talisman still possesses? Jonathan Davies of Wales (or his compatriot Scott Williams) must also be a strong contender for the Lions' Test team when Australia should be well served at 13 by the underrated Adam Ashley-Cooper or the developing Rob Horne.

There also remains the debate about Tuilagi's ideal position. Assuming the necessary defensive positioning and kicking skills can be mastered I'm still not convinced his talents would not be better utilised on the wing, bursting infield on a regular basis à la Digby Ioane. There is no question he has the ability to bump off a few en route to the corner and the current limitations of his passing game would be less obvious. "Manu has had his criticism but, within our structure, he has been really good," said Cockerill at the weekend. Fair enough but would he be playing at outside centre for the All Blacks? That, as recent evidence has taught us, continues to be the true barometer of excellence.

At the very least we should reserve judgment until Leicester have played Saracens at Wembley this weekend. Sarries know how to defend big men, invariably wrapping them up with two tacklers. They have also begun the season with a confident air. If Tuilagi runs through and past Brad Barritt and Owen Farrell on a regular basis and starts off-loading like Sonny Bill, maybe we will have to start brushing down the superlatives in earnest. It is the same with Hartley and Eastmond. If England's hooker fronts up spectacularly again against Bath this Friday, he will deserve all the praise he receives. Ditto the new Jason, barely out of rugby league. Until then it might just be worth reminding everyone that trophies are won in May, not September.

Why did the Catt creep in?

Slipping the news out late on a Friday evening, with England playing a World Cup qualifier and the Paralympics still in full swing, the Rugby Football Union apparently had no wish to trumpet its confirmation of Mike Catt's addition to Stuart Lancaster's coaching setup as attacking skills coach. Everyone had seen it coming and negotiations with London Irish had something to do with it but Catt's arrival, along with the return of Andy Farrell, has a fundamental relevance to England's future. The day Lancaster's side can attack and defend with equal facility against top opposition is the day the rest of the world takes them very seriously indeed.

Hold on tight for …

New Zealand v South Africa. The Springboks have yet to set the inaugural Rugby Championship alight but their joust with New Zealand in Dunedin this weekend will be fascinating. The All Blacks will again be missing Dan Carter and will be experiencing their first game beneath the closed roof of the Forsyth Barr Stadium. A hugely physical encounter seems certain and the South Africans would dearly love to ruffle the world champions in what local forecasters predict will be a chilly backyard. Apparently the World Cup led to an increase of nearly six per cent in the number of New Zealand children under the age of 12 taking up the game. A potentially rugged contest may cause their mothers to question the wisdom of signing up their little darlings.